We are counting on support from friends like you to build the grassroots strength that we need to end cannabis prohibition in California next year.

Last November, we were only 345,000 votes away from legalizing and controlling marijuana in California — so we need to make sure that everyone who supports our cause gets out to vote in 2012. And you can make a difference.

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While there has been bright spots with court decisions and state laws passing relaxing MJ crimes the underlying Federal legal statutes that criminalize MJ are still unaffected by these events. The only way these laws will be repealed will be by Judicial Review by the Supreme Court or a change in the Controlled Substances Act.

Considering the current makeup of the SC and the rulings that they have made over the last 10 years I will guess that if a MJ case went before them they will either outright uphold prohibition or even worse refuse to hear it and leave it in the hands of Congress.

Looking at the current makeup and the state Congress is in I have no hope that MJ decriminalization can ever be passed. The Tea Party/Christian Conservatives will fight tooth and nail to prevent any such action to happen. With the President a wet noodle and unwilling to challenge the establishment there is no leadership from the top that can take these grass roots movements and coalesce them into a result. The politics are just not there. There is no one at the top with enough political juice and the willingness to spend that juice to get this rolling. That is why along with local efforts we need to nationalize our base and become a political entity with voting power and dollars to influence those in positions of authority to see our way. That is the only language they understand. We need to start backing candidates at the State and Federal levels that are willing to back us. The current crop of legislatures and Congressmen have been bought by those who have no desire to see this changed. And while they wield the dollars and can motivate voters towards their candidates that position will not change.

Are the various groups working toward legalization in 2012 cooperating? Just the other day we heard about Judge Jim Gray’s Regulate Marijuana Like Wine Act. It’s got a lot of good things going for it. I’d like to see the communicate rally around one proposition and make a unified push for 2012.

Submitted? No. But not appreciating the magnitude of what is involved is plain ignorant.

Laws can and do change, however just hoping that people upstairs “Get the message” is short sighted and naive. The original reason MJ is illegal was stupid and political. The current reason it is illegal has to do with the one thing that controls everything in our government, money. The amount of money the Fed has invested in drug interdiction is staggering and they cannot just go, “Hey this doesn’t seem to be working and we are just going to stop now, mkay?” We are talking billions of dollars at stake and hundred of thousands of jobs. These groups have vested interests in keeping the status quo regardless of the overwhelming evidence that what they are doing is not working and is actually encouraging the behavior they are trying to eradicate.

Alcohol Prohibition was not knocked down by grass root movements(in fact it was grass root involvement that directly lead to the enactment of Prohibition) is was repealed by the Fed when they realize that no matter what they did they would not be able to stop people from drinking. Added to the fact that most people in Congress were not in favor of Prohibition and were embarrassed that they were lead so easily into this quagmire by listening to all that populist talk lead to it being repealed. But you have to understand alcohol is a socially acceptable drug to consume; legislatures could not understand why you couldn’t have a drink.

Cannabis prohibition has it’s roots in racism and class struggle almost from the beginning. The fact that MJ is not part of the Western paradigm like alcohol and tobacco lead to it being perceived as an exotic drug consumed by savages and minorities. The Fed government took MJ usage by counter culture/ civil rights movements of 60’s and 70’s and used it as a weapon to ostracize those groups and marginalize the message they were broadcasting. And the sad fact is those voices were marginalize and MJ usage has been forever tied with subversives, criminals and lazy people; even while mountains of work were being produced by all manner of creative people with the use of cannabis. Work that has been enjoyed by the world and profited the very groups who are fanatical supporters of prohibition.

Most of middle America still perceive of MJ as a dirty drug that leads to nothing but “Bad Things.” Cops and Judges and Prison builders have been relying on criminalization to fuel their systems and will hardly just lie down and have to admit they were wrong about everything related to weed.

These laws have to be challenged on a Federal Level. Once Cannabis is removed as a Schedule one Drug then true freedom will happen. While MJ is still classified as such each and every one of us smokers are under threat. Do not let the current lax attitude fool you; there are plenty of people in the background waiting for the right moment to tumble the whole house of cards. This isn’t just going to fade quietly; I know alot of reformers are hope things will just fade away. But it is not. MJ prohibition is one of those things that has been ingrained in the American Psyche for a long time and the only thing that will change is is repudiation of the old mentality in favor of a new one. But that would be admitting fault; and considering the way the Fed has been acting the last 10 years the last thing I wold expect is anyone one of them just admitting they were wrong and changing things.

I fear the road to legalization will be a political battle of epic proportions. Since no one is willing to fight the other critical battles to improve this country I doubt very much this issue will be resolved any time soon.

As much as I would love to see cannabis legalized passing this law will not make marijuana legal. Federal law still supersedes State Law and even though the DOJ has made a “gentleman’s” agreement not to go after Medical Marijuana states passing a full legalization law will be a brazen smack in the face to the Fed. They will have to respond to this challenge to their authority. Just to put this in perspective these were some of the same underlying issues that led to the Civil War. The only difference is that the issue was the prohibition of slavery whereas now it is the legalization of cannabis. The Federal Government won that battle back in the 19th Century and it is not a battle they want to revisit as the power they gained by winning the Civil War is the underpinning of almost everything the Federal Government does today.

I am not trying to sound too dismal but this is a serious legal issue. It goes to the heart of how our nation works. As much as I applaud and laud this effort do not think for a moment that if this law passes weed will be legal right away. In fact it might mean a more draconian crackdown and the dismantling of the Med Mar Laws in effect if the Fed gets upset at the affront to their authority. Unfortunately legalization must come from the top down; we cannot have piecemeal legalization or the existing Medical Marijuana System as they are not truly adequate to protect citizens and keep us free from police and legal actions against cannabis users. As of right now the only reason the current situation stands is because the Fed is too busy looking for Terrorists/Wall Street Crooks and California is the wealthiest state in the nation and a Democratic stronghold. But if we pass a legalization law we will be challenging the authority of the US government itself. We need to also focus on putting serious effort in removing it as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Once and only if this is done will Cannabis be truly legal and safe to consume.